10 Sneaky Things That Could Be Lowering Your Immune System

Posted by Lisa Hannam on April 16, 2020

What are the sneaky things that may be affecting your immune system during self-isolation and social distancing? From a lack of human contact to working out less (or even too much), find out how your habits that could be affecting health right now.

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Not exercising enough

If the pull of the couch is stronger than your ability to do pull-ups, then your immune system could be impacted. A lack of physical activity is obviously not very healthy over the long term, but it also affects your immediate health by weakening the immune system. When you exercise, you immediately boost the immunity. How? Exercise gets your blood flowing, which is how the lymphocytes (immune cells) travel through the body.

Over exercising

You can also do too much. Intense exercise actually suppresses the immune system for up to 72 hours, which means you’re at risk for getting sick. And that’s why research shows that athletes who over exercise suffer from more upper respiratory tract infections than those who don’t over exercise. So what’s the Goldilocks amount of exercise? A moderate amount: Cardio broken down in 10 minutes sessions (about 2.5 hours per week, including strength training, too!)

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Feeling lonely

Not touching your face and washing your hands often will keep you healthy, but so does connecting to people. Confused? Keep reading. Research has shown that isolation and loneliness alters immune system cells to promote inflammation and weakens the cells that helps fight off viruses. Scientists liken the effects of loneliness to how the body responds to stress. So if you’re feeling alone or isolated, call a friend or download the House Party app and have a group video date, if you’re not able to meet in person.

Not eating at mealtime

If your schedule is off and you’re eating and random times throughout the day (not at mealtimes), you could be hampering your immune system. An eating routine, turns out, is good for the gut, which impacts the immune system, suggests research. When you eat, you activate the immune cells in the gut, especially when the body is anticipating food intake. By eating regularly, you stimulate the immune system throughout the day. If you’re worried about getting sick, you may want to skip intermittent fasting.

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Smoking

If you smoke cigarettes, you’re not only increasing your risk for cancers, but you’re also messing with your immune system, suggests this study. You know how we just talked about how the gut is an important part of the immune system? Well, by smoking cigarettes you actually alter the microbiome in the mouth which affects the microbiome in the gut. Swap cigarette sticks for sweet pepper slices, as they’re high in vitamin C, which has been shown to boost the immune system.

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Terrible sleep

You already know sleep is good for you. It is called beauty sleep after all. But what happens to your immune system when you don’t get your seven to eight hours of shut eye? When you’re sleep deprived, your body responds as if you’re heavily stressed, putting your immune system at risk. In fact, immune cells known as granulocytes were reduced in sleep-deprived subjects of a study by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

But if you can’t sleep at night, us telling you to sleep more isn’t very helpful. But this tidbit might be. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism found that napping can reverse the negative effects of poor sleep.

Sprinkling on the salt

In an earlier slide, we discussed how exercise can get the blood flowing, and that helps boost the immune system by transporting immune cells through the body. Well eating salt can do the opposite. Sodium has been shown to constrict blood flow, putting you at risk for cardiovascular issues — and a weakened immune system, reports the University of Delaware.

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Weight gain

If you’re thinking to yourself, the things that put you at risk for cancer and other diseases are the same things that weaken the immune system, you would be right. And that includes weight gain. And you should be concerned about the COVID-Fifteen (a play on words about gaining 15 pounds because of quarantining). In fact, losing body fat improves immunity, suggests a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism.

Drinking wine

When you’re tense or overwhelmed, sometimes the only cure seems like glass or two of wine. It’s supposed to be relaxing. And maybe it is, but alcohol weakens the heart muscle, report researchers from. Loyola University in Chicago. And you guessed right, if you thought this all means that those immune cells wouldn’t be circulated properly through the body.

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Giving in to stress

Stress is bad for the body and bad for the immune system. It causes inflammation and negatively affects the gut, the circulatory system and the immune system. And you don’t need to be a scientist or a medical expert to realize that stress is stressful, which is why stress needs to be managed. Meditation is a great solution for stress and mental wellness, and Texas Tech research suggests that it improves immune function as well as managing emotions.